Stanley Cup Round-Up: Day 1

The Stanley Cup Playoffs started last night, and there were some pretty good games.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 4, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 1
(Pittsburgh leads series 1-0)
Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and an assist. The Flyers found themselves on the wrong end of 9 power plays. That's Philly's strength/weakness: their no holds barred physical play. However, Pittsburgh only scored on 1 of those power plays. Philly didn't get their goal until 4:35 was left in the game.



NEW YORK RANGERS 4, WASHINGTON CAPITALS 3
(New York leads series 1-0)
Sean Avery and the inability of referees to watch Sean Avery have already impacted this series. Avery clearly interfered with a defending Capital player as he skated backward. This allowed Scott Gomez enough space to wind up and shoot. He beat Bozo Theodore, who only stopped 17 of the 21 shots he faced. Ovechkin had 2 assists, and missed all 13 shots he took.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS 4, CAROLINA HURRICANES 1
(New Jersey leads series 1-0)
The Devils only allowed 19 shots to reach Martin Brodeur. Meanwhile, they peppered the Carolina net with 39 shots. Langenbrunner and Parise each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Typical, boring Devils hockey. Just ignore it, and it might go away.



VANCOUVER CANUCKS 2, ST. LOUIS BLUES 1
(Vancouver leads series 1-0)
I'm so glad I stayed up to watch this game as it was the most entertaining. Then again, it was the refs who made it entertaining. They called the tightest hockey game I've ever seen. There were 13 total power plays, with 50 total penalty minutes, even though it wasn't much more physical than any other game. Despite the power plays, both teams played excellent defense. The Canucks blocked 11 shots, and Luongo stopped 25 more.



TONIGHT'S GAMES:
7:00 - Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins - NESN
7:00 - Columbus Blue Jackets @ Detroit Red Wings - Vs.
8:30 - Calgary Flames @ Chicago Blackhawks - Vs.
10:30 - Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks - Vs.

At least, I think those are the times for the later games. My TV says the Flames/Blackhawks game is at 9:30, and coverage of the Ducks/Sharks game starts on Versus at 11. WTF, Versus?

Hey NHL, bet you wish you'd signed with ESPN, huh?

-The Commodore